In a country with an actual functioning justice system, a bank that conspired to aid in tax evasion for thousands of clients would be shut down and its executives sent to prison.

But instead, we get the usual charade, where our compromised Department of Justice pretends it is getting tough. The bank pretends to be penitent, A fine is imposed. Nothing changes. The fine essentially is a governmental protection racket. The bank pays the government money. The government permits the bank to essentially continue business as usual. A faux independent monitor will be installed. It will be a figurehead.

For Credit Suisse, other than the fines and the reputational stain of being a felon, the implications are likely to be limited. The bank may lose some clients but is otherwise expected to survive largely unscathed. The plea deal also enables it to move beyond a case that had prompted a congressional hearing and had thrust the bank into an international squabble over tax dodging. If the bank had continued to fight the case, it would have been indicted, calling into question its very existence.